Difference between Federal HSTs and Hydra-shoks

This is a discussion on Difference between Federal HSTs and Hydra-shoks within the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; Does anyone know the difference between HSTs and Hydra-Shoks or are they the same?...

They are very different. HST's are the super expanding line of ammo. They usually expand to over double their original size. I have HST's loaded in my .45. They have the potential to expand to over an inch. Hydra-Shoks are a slightly older hollow point design and are more in line with other run of the mill JHPs.

This is from Federal's website.
I thougth the differnce was one was a little bit more seriously bonded than the other, better weight retention.
Website gives Okay description but the difference IMHO is slight.

TACTICAL® BONDED®
The edge you can carry into any situation.
When the situation leads to a lethal force encounter, rely on your backup, your experience and our Tactical ammunition. Made exclusively for law enforcement, it achieves accuracy and terminal performance unmatched by any other ammunition today. Tactical is your single, best choice for precision accuracy and barrier penetration. Tactical Handgun offers an extremely accurate hollow point with outstanding weight retention, excellent jacket integrity and consistent 1.5 caliber expansion. It performs exceptionally well in shorter barrels.

TACTICAL® HST®
The next generation in high performance duty ammunition.
HST offers consistent expansion and optimum penetration for terminal performance. A specially designed hollow-point tip won’t plug while passing through a variety of barriers and this bullet holds its jacket in the toughest conditions. HST is engineered for 100% weight retention and impressive expansion—it’s the ammunition you’ve been waiting for. SEE EXPANSION BULLET POSTER—INSIDE BACK COVER.

TACTICAL® EFMJ
EFMJ brings a new standard to bullet expansion technology.
Federal’s exclusive EFMJ bullet design provides the most consistent expansion and reduced risk of collateral damage. This one-of-a-kind bullet design combines a scored full-metal nose over an internal rubber tip that collapses on impact—not based on hydraulics. Its fully enclosed design means it never fills with barrier material and ensures controlled expansion directly upon impact. A low-flash propellant is ideal for low-light tactical applications, while EFMJ’s bullet profile promotes smooth feeding in automatics. It’s the perfect choice for reliable expansion and penetration—not to mention for agencies that don’t permit hollow point ammunition.

I seem to recall some testing showing that the hydra-shok rounds tended to get plugged up when shooting through barriers, which was part of the reason Federal redesigned their LE ammo (the other reason, I think, was that the Winchester Ranger was whupping them in sales). LEOs are all about the barrier penetration shots.

My local sheriff's dept has started to use and test some HST rounds, and they've been very impressed by them.

Hydra Shok

We did a test on some Hydra Shoks through cloth and some barriers to see if the plugging up myth was true. It's posted here somewhere back a while ago. We couldn't get cloth to wrap around the center post like some had thought would happen. In plywood, everything plugged up no matter what bulet design. The only load that expanded in plywood was the EFMJ (no surprise there). I carryHydra Shok in 9 and .45.

Last edited by Superhouse 15; January 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 PM.
Reason: clarity

Somebody had a link in another thread to a field study done on police shootings over the past fifty years. It had .38, .357, 9mm, .40, .45acp, and .45lc data. It charted hundreds of shootings in each of the above calibers. It showed the actual numbers of, and a percentage point number of one shot stops on BG's. It showed the 155gr Hydra shock in .40 cal performed at 96% on the street! This was the highest score in the whole study ( it tied with two loads from the .357). The .45 acp 230 gr. Hydra shock was second at 94%. It is a good read, and it changed my mind about what I shoot. The HST round was too new for the testing.

Hydra Shoks

Anyone have any requests? We'll be glad to try stuff. Next up is pistol bullets through chest-mounted magazine pouches insurgent style.

I personally like a bullet that expands. I don't feel bad not carrying a bonded or deep penetrating bullet. I look at a core and jacket separation as secondary wound paths. I carry a lot of Gold Dot, but in my spare magazines in the hope that I can shoot through obstacles should a gunfight go into the spare magazine phase. I mostly have Hydra Shok or Gold Saber in my guns.

Thanks for all the info guys. I hadn't heard of the expansion problems in the Hydra-Shoks before but sounds like it might be worth looking into. Hopefully I'll get to shoot this weekend to even see if my new Beretta even likes them. I want to try the HST but no one sells them locally and I don't care that much for buying them online. But we'll see how things go, thanks again for the info.

Find out who your local law enforcement supplier is. I get all my ammo from those guys. Last time I was there they had an order for a couple hundred thousand rounds of HST. Picked up 8, 50 round boxes for $12 a box cause the case had broken open while being moved aorund in the warehouse.

I've done a lot of reading on the two, including several different independent tests by police agencies under FBI requirements.

The Hydra-Shock is falling by the way side due to plugging and a rather smooth expansion (smooth round edge) which has a tendency to push target media (tissue/organs) out of the way and closed up behind, whereas the HST rounds rarely plug and the expansion is huge with sharp edges that cut the target media rather than push making a larger wound track.

That and for some odd reason the HSTs are about 50% cheaper than the Hydra-Shocks.

LongRider and one other member have avatars of the HST expanded.

I've been using the Hyydra-Shocks for the last 15 years, and will be switching to the HST as soon as I can embezzle $60 from the CFO (wife).

Grasseater // Grass~eat~er noun, often attributive \ˈgras-ē-tər\
A person who is incapable of independent thought; a person who is herd animal-like in behavior; one who cannot distinguish between right and wrong; a foolish person.See also Sheep

DICK'S

Originally Posted by AFPowerGuy

Thanks for all the info guys. I hadn't heard of the expansion problems in the Hydra-Shoks before but sounds like it might be worth looking into. Hopefully I'll get to shoot this weekend to even see if my new Beretta even likes them. I want to try the HST but no one sells them locally and I don't care that much for buying them online. But we'll see how things go, thanks again for the info.

Dicks Sporting Goods sell the HST in 20 pack. I to thought they were the same as the Hydra Shoks.

Dicks Sporting Goods sell the HST in 20 pack. I to thought they were the same as the Hydra Shoks.

Interesting. Dick's here in Indiana doesn't carry pistol ammo, not on the shelf anyway. I called my local shop, and they said since I'm not LEO, their distributor could get in trouble with Federal if they got some for me. I should have been a reserve officer instead of a volunteer firefighter . . . then I could carry my HST on campus!

Grasseater // Grass~eat~er noun, often attributive \ˈgras-ē-tər\
A person who is incapable of independent thought; a person who is herd animal-like in behavior; one who cannot distinguish between right and wrong; a foolish person.See also Sheep

HST is already preferable b/c of the newer design. Add to that they actually cost LESS. It shouldn't be a hard decision.

+1

Ammo to go is where I buy my HSTs too. They average around $20 a box of 50. A little less for 9mm, a little more for .40 and .45. They are for real, I've already bought and received 150 rounds of .45, 200 rounds of .40 and 100 rounds of 9mm. Now I need more.